-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Italy 's Valentino Rossi edged out Yamaha teammate and title rival Jorge Lorenzo to claim pole position for the French MotoGP at Le Mans .

The top spot on the timesheets changed hands several times in an exciting qualifying session on Saturday , with defending champion Rossi setting the fastest time on the 28th of his 30 laps .

Rossi lapped in one minute 33.408 seconds to edge championship leader Lorenzo by just 0.054 seconds .

Spain 's Dani Pedrosa claimed the third spot on the front row for Honda .

Australian Casey Stoner also strongly challenged on his Ducati , but had to settle for fourth fastest , just ahead of teammate Nicky Hayden .

Home rider Randy De Puniet and Andrea Dovizioso of Italy were sixth and seventh fastest .

Colin Edwards of the United States , Suzuki 's Loris Capirossi were eighth and ninth best with Aleix Espargaro completing the top ten with his last lap .

Rossi , who has won three times at Le Mans , trails Lorenzo by four points in this year 's title race after both have secured wins in the opening two races of the season .

The 31-year-old has been troubled by a shoulder injury after a motocross accident in April and admitted it was still a problem .

`` I am still worried about my shoulder because after 10 or 15 laps today I started to lose power , but I hope adrenalin will take over in the race and that I will be able to stay fast right to the end , '' he told the official MotoGP Web site .

Lorenzo is hoping to double up after winning at Le Mans last year .

`` I need to try to get a good start tomorrow and be stronger during the first few laps , then I think I can fight for victory , '' he said .

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Valentino Rossi on pole for the French MotoGP at Le Mans

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Rossi edges Yamaha teammate Jorge Lorenzo in final qualifying

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Dani Pedrosa third on the grid in his 150th MotoGP race

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Lorenzo leads Rossi by four points in the title race after two rounds